Submitted on Thu, 20 Nov 2014 - 01:26 PM
After five student activists from Khon Kaen University were arrested on Wednesday morning for flashing a three-fingered salute, a group of 11 student activists from Bangkok’s Thammasat University organized a supper at the Democracy Monument to show support for their fellow student activists, which led to their arrest late on Wednesday night.
After they were detained for about four hours, the police released them before midnight without charge.
LLTD members at Democracy Monument eat supper and flash three-fingered salutes
On the same day, students from Burapha University in Chonburi condemned the junta after the arrest of the Khon Kaen activists and demanded their immediate release and the end of martial law.
The police on Wednesday night arrested 11 students from the League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy (LLTD) for organizing a symbolic supper called “Tasting and Grumbling” (chim pai bon pai) at the Democracy Monument in central Bangkok to show their support for student activists from the Dao Din group, who were arrested for raising 3-fingered salutes during Prayut’s visit.
During the supper at around 8 pm the students took pictures of themselves with the three-fingered salutes as a symbolic protest against the junta before the police arrested them and took them to a nearby police station.
LLTD members at Democracy Monument eat supper and flash three-fingered salutes
Prior to the arrest, the police asked for the students’ backgrounds and asked journalists to delete pictures taken at the scene.
According to a lawyer from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the police did not press charges against the group, but collected their names and personal information for the police’s daily report before releasing them at around 11 pm. Before their release, the police told them that high-ranking military officers wanted to talk to the group, but no one came.
Earlier at around 5 pm, four students from the ‘Villagers’ Children’s Group’ (Luk Chaoban), a student activist group based at Burapha University in eastern Chonburi Province, put up banners condemning the junta for the arrest of the same Khon Kaen activists, accusing the junta of suppressing the basic rights of civilians without any legitimacy.
‘Villagers’ Children Group’ (Luk Chaoban) hold placards supporting the Khon Kaen student activists
The four students put up banners to state the group’s stance. One of the banners reads “Release our brothers and sisters, stop intimidating students.”
The group also made a public statement in an open letter on Facebook: “Villagers’ Children’s Group is against the detention of student activists and condemns the government and officials who have abused their power to suppress civilians with no legitimacy. This is an abuse of human rights and freedoms, against democratic governance, and against basic human rights. We call for the immediate release of the five students arrested and for martial law to be lifted unconditionally.”
Police at Democracy Monument on Wednesday night
The LLTD students are taken to a nearby police station for interrogation
